By Patrice Taddonio Frontline (5/30/18) Purdue Pharma had information suggesting that OxyContin was being abused as early as the year after its 1996 release, but kept marketing the long-acting drug as a less addictive type of prescription opioid, according to an internal Justice Department report obtained by New York Times reporter Barry Meier. Purdue Pharma executives had previously said in testimony before Congress that the company was unaware of mounting abuse of OxyContin until 2000 — a position the company still holds, according to the Times. In 2006, federal prosecutors recommended the indictment of three individual Purdue Pharma executives on felony charges that included conspiracy to defraud…

  By Rebecca Shapiro CNN (6/5/18) CNN host Jake Tapper issued a strong defense of the Philadelphia Eagles on Tuesday and said President Donald Trump had lied and made false suggestions about the Super Bowl champions. Tapper, a huge Eagles fan and was in the stands for the team’s Super Bowl win, discussed Trump disinviting the team to the White House and canceling the celebration meant to honor the players on Monday, the day before the event. Most of the Eagles players had already said they would not visit the White House, with several citing their view that Trump seeks to divide the…

  By Lulu Garcia-Navarro NPR (6/3/18) David Kennedy, a criminal justice professor at John Jay College, tells NPR’s Lulu Garcia-Navarro what we know about the international criminal gang MS-13 compared with President Trump’s statements. This past week at a rally in Nashville, President Trump returned to one of his favorite themes, the dangers of MS-13. And the crowd was ready for it – chanting a word the president has used to describe the street gang. … Read the Rest, Transcript and 3+-Minute Audio  

  The Resistance “The bad news for democrats is that they may well come out of this election doing well on a case-by-case basis but not really resolving their identity crisis.” — Alexander Burns, NY Times The Daily (6/1/18) Alarm over the election of Donald Trump spurred dozens of first-time candidates to run for Congress. Some of those candidates now present a problem for the Democratic Party. Guests: Mai Khanh Tran, a Democratic candidate running for the United States House in California; Alexander Burns, who covers national politics for The New York Times. Link to 26-Minute Audio ***** New York…

“What else can we do? We just want to get out of the world.” BBC (6/1/18) When Mustafa Kolo, 23, takes the bright red pills he feels like he can push a tree. It’s like his body isn’t his. They obliterate the negative thoughts. “When I take it, I forget everything,” he says. It’s 10:00, Mr Kolo and his friend Modu Mohamed are with their boss, the commander of a vigilante unit set up to protect the city of Maiduguri from Boko Haram. The young recruits are clearly uncomfortable. ‘People have lost everything’ “How many did you take today?” I…

The Our Wisconsin Revolution Convention is right around the corner. Don’t forget to register, as soon as possible, as we need an accurate count for food and lodging. All meals are included with your ticket purchase! Great rooms are available on the campus for a really reasonable price. And here are some fun tidbits to get you excited about the weekend: FRIDAY JUNE 22nd Registration will open at 4 pm There will be an all group welcome at 5:30 pm We will have a Candidate Unforum (time to talk directly with candidates about what is important to you and have FUN!) over heavy…

  By Jake Johnson Common Dreams (5/29/18) With Medicare for All reaching record levels of support among both members of Congress and the American public—where support for single-payer is spreading “like wildfire”—policy platforms demanding that the U.S. ditch its wasteful and deeply immoral for-profit system in favor of guaranteed healthcare for every American are also proving to be winners in Democratic primary fights across the country. In red and blue states alike, candidates backing Medicare for All have emerged victorious in Democratic primary battles where, in some cases, their opponents had the backing of the party establishment. “In Nebraska’s 2nd district, Kara Eastman, who supports ‘Medicare for…

By Julia Conley Common Dreams (5/29/18) As lawsuits mount against the pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma over its knowledge that one of its best-selling drugs was addictive and dangerous, a newly- uncovered Justice Department report shows that the multi-billion dollar corporation also knew that patients were abusing OxyContin shortly after the drug’s release. Almost immediately after releasing OxyContin in 1996, Purdue Pharma received reports that patients were crushing and snorting the drug and stealing it from pharmacies, and that some doctors were beginning to sell prescriptions for the highly addictive painkiller, which is chemically similar to heroin. According to the New York…

“In the darkest days of the Second World War, when America’s very future was at risk, writer E.B. White was asked by the U.S. Federal Government’s Writers’ War Board to write a short response to the question “What is democracy?” His answer was unassuming but inspiring. He wrote: “Surely the Board knows what democracy is. it is the line that forms on the right. It is the “don’t” in don’t shove. It is the hole in the stuffed shirt through which the sawdust slowly trickles; it is the dent in the high hat. Democracy is the recurrent suspicion that more…